[beckybeener]

I am wondering what your opinions are on how to stay on a budget for food for a family of 4 and where would be good places to go to stay in that price? Thanks!!!

[Prezcatz]

Tricks we have used in the past are bringing small items like pop tarts, granola bars, etc for a quick breakfast 'snack' and then only eating two meals a day. Most of your meals at counter service will be fairly reasonable, plus you can further reduce costs by only buying a couple of 'combo meals' and sharing sodas or buying all kids meals since they have almost as much food buy cost less. We tried to eat at table service restaurants for brunches, as late as we could and still get cheaper breakfast pricing, or early dinners, where similarly we could eat at the cheaper lunch prices before they switched to dinners.

Prezcatz Paul

[mickeysgirlz]

Did you consider the DDP . . . there is no better way! It's a lot of food . . . my DD3 and DD7 like to eat, but we did OK with this plan . . . you get dessert with counter service and app and dessert with sit down. BUT OF COURSE, I kept the bag of gold fishies to snack on between meals!! It just takes a little planning and some ADR. PLUS, it's attached to your room key, so one less thing to worry about!

Walt Disney World Resort - Detecting Browser Properties . . .

[beckybeener]

We've done dining plan and love it but have a bit less food budget money this time around....and now my 10 year old is an "adult"! (which she thinks is just great!)

[mickey]

If you aren't doing the dining plan (even if you are) Tangierine Cafe in Morocco is great, the main dishes are huge, and can easily be shared by two adults.

I have a horrible time going any more without the dining plan. We usually put that down first in the budget, and plan around it. We did our trip last year without it (we were staying DVC, prior to them offering it), and we decided to eat cheaply. In the end, we ended up spending as much as the dining plan would have cost us, and we really tried to keep the cost down. We missed eating at 5 or 6 restaurants we wanted to eat at because they were too expensive.

If there is any way you can swing it, do the DDP.

[Daisee]

We usually make a grocery stop on the way to the resort. The towncar service we use offers that. We purchase breakfast items..enough for each morning. We also purchase bottled water. That way we grab a few on our way into the park and save $$ not buying them in the park. ( I think they are up to $3.00 a bottle now, or close) We buy snacks.. like chips, cookies, fruit bars, soda, etc. (junk food) to eat in the room during nap & pool breaks. That saves $$ also.

As far as sticking to a budget while eating in the park. We too have a family of 4. 2 adults, 2 kids... 9 & 13. My 2 still order off the kids menu whenever possible. We have never been questioned. I figure why not.. they are still kids. We try to eat Couter service for lunch and Table service for dinner. We can usually spend around $35.00 for CS... $75 - $100 for Table service... sometimes a little more depending where we are eating. We have done alot of the "big" TS's like Hoop D, CRT, ect.. so we don't really waste the money on those. We are not snackers while in the park. We usually get so much food at our meals that we are totally full. Of course we do get Mickey Head Ice Cream Bars on occasion.

So, those are my tips.. hope they help.

[emamasa]

i don't have a ton new to add - except that I agree with prezcatz! bringin your own water bottle & refill it (get those flavor tube thingys to mix it up a bit), bring in fruit snacks/granola bars for snacks, eat breakfast in the room (bring poptarts, etc), share counter service meals when you can. The tough part will be if you want to do table service everyday or even every couple of days - that can really rack up! if you do TS, really ask yourselves if you need that much food - if not, order an app & 1 meal for 2 people to share. still alot of food usually!

This is our first time on DDP (and its free) - so I'm excited! we had been on a food budget before and honestly, it worked, but wasn't as much fun planning as this trip has been! plus, I constantly worried if we spent too much early on, what we'd do later in the week.

[Caseys Corner]

If the dinning plan is an option go for it its worth it. If not and your driving load up with snacks and drinks for the room and to take with you. All the sodas and small stuff really ads up.

[llama]

Cut out breakfasts. You can spend $100. or more on breakfasts in the parks or resorts before the day has even started. Depending on where you are staying, stock up on cereal, milk, fruit, etc., if possible, before heading to the resort. (this also makes for a faster start in the parks in the morning, which is a good thing). Also, stock up on water. If you don't have a car, greengrocer.com has an excellent reputation and the prices are reasonable. You can also bring granola bars, breakfast drinks or bars from home. I've always been one of those cruel mothers who only allowed 2 snacks per day - there's no need for kids to be snacking continually. It's just a bad habit and not good for anyone.

When I go to WDW with DD1, we never have the dining plan - she's such a picky eater, it isn't worth it. We eat almost exclusively at counterservice.
And it's given us the opportunity to try places we've passed up in the past. We especially love World Showcase for this - if you look around you don't have to eat in the noisy, crowded restaurant. In places like France, UK or Japan, there are great little areas tucked away. You get away from the noise of the parks and can still have a nice meal. (The gardens of Japan are especially nice).

When eating at counterservice, stop and think about what you're getting - I can't tell you the number of people I see who order full meals for everyone in their party and end up leaving half the food. Very often we'll share three counterservice meals between the four of us and it is PLENTY of food.

It's so easy to get carried away - do you need dessert with lunch if you're going to get a Mickey Bar as a snack 2 hours later? It's little stuff like that. I'm not suggesting being a scrooge with food, but just put a little more thought into what you buy.

For great inexpensive meals, try Earl of Sandwich at the Marketplace, Casey's at MK for a hotdog lunch. The cheese, fruit and baquette plate at the bakery in France can easily serve two (and we've wrapped up leftover cheese and taken it with us!).

Avoid buffets. You still have to pay full price for every member of your party, but if you don't have big appetites it's not worth it. (Especially paying adult prices for a 10 year old).

I think the trick is to not feel you're "depriving" yourself of food - you're just eating in a different way and getting a new experience. You don't have to have tableservice meals every day to have fun at WDW.

[gingles]

If you have the patience and time to read through, this thread has a LOT of food budgeting tips. It's a sticky in WDW budget forum.

http://www.mousebuzz.com/forum/wdw-b...skate-tip.html

[Willbegone]

Check the menus on allearsnet.com to see which restaurants will fit in your budget.

[bosoxx65]

I love Llama's idea.. We like to cut out heavy breakfasts whenever we can. (minus Sandy's character breakfast with Pooh). We try to eat light and stretch it to lunch, eat light again and have a nice dinner. With the dining plan we have to kill a Counter and a Table, pretty much each day and if we had a filling breakfast, there'd be no way. I'm still trying to figure out a way to use up all of these counter trips without spoiling our appetite for dinner?

[mickeysgirlz]

[quote=bosoxx65] With the dining plan we have to kill a Counter and a Table, pretty much each day [quote]

No, no that's not how it works . . .

If you are staying 5 nights, at check in you get 5 table services, 5 snacks and 5 counters . . . you can use them anytime, anywhere you want too . . . so it does take a little planning. (the expire at midnight the day you check out)

Our first night of check in, we use two sit downs for Hoop Dee Do Revue . . . but that was OK, cuz we were leaving lunch time on the day of check out, so we had that days sit down to use another day . . . not sure I am explaining it correctly . . . Does it make sense? Click the link below it explains it better:

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[Dana]

The easiest way to get on a budget and stick to it is to do the disney dining plan. For $38 a day for adults and $12 for kids 3-9, it's the most fixed food budget you can have. A dinner alone at WDW can cost $38 a person, so this is a great deal in my opinion. You get a counter service, snack and full table meal. The table meal includes appetizer, entree, dessert, drink, tax and tip...tha'ts is worth $38 right there.

[emamasa]

I think he was just saying that there would be 2 meals to use per day (unless they do a 2 TS meal)....and i thought he meant he wasn't sure they'd have enough room for all that food.

I think we'll be stuffed the whole trip with the DDP (and I am happy) - but do worry that I'll get spoiled and have to have it every time! lol! We have always done budget vacations before, so it may be hard to go back to that. I have a feeling we'll be making sure we can do DDp every time.